Supplement Plans On a Budget - $1 and $2 a Day

Heck, if money were no object, we’d all probably spend $500 easily on supplements each month and not bat an eye.

Unfortunately, very few of you reading this article have this kind of financial freedom. If you clicked on this article, chances are really, really good that you’re strapped for cash, but you want to further enhance your performance in the gym through the use of supplements. This also means that you feel that you have peaked or plateaued in your training and think that the addition of a few choice supplements can help bring more gains.

Here’s the good news.

Unless you’re competing in a pro bodybuilding show, there’s no reason to spend exorbitant amounts of money on supplements each month. We’re going to show you how to create an incredibly effective supplement stack, even if you can only afford to spend $1 per day on supplements.

With that in mind, let’s see how to maximize your dollar!

A Few Notes on Maximizing Budget

Stick to the Basics

You’re on a budget, which means you don’t have the cash to throw away on “possibly effective” products. To ensure you’re getting the most out of your money, stick to only those supplements that have a strong body of research demonstrating their effectiveness. That means prioritizing ingredients like creatine or beta alanine, which have a long track record of improving performance and body composition.

Maybe in a few months when your budget is a little more flexible you can try out the latest pre-workout, fat burner, or nootropic supplement, but for now, it’s about prioritizing the most proven effective supplements.

DIY

In case you weren’t aware, DIY stands for “Do It Yourself.”

When you’re on a tight budget, part of getting the most for your money involves buying the ingredients yourself and putting them together. Sure, it might be nice to get the “Ferrari” pre-workouts that include everything you could possibly want, but those often come with a higher price tag.

Buying the raw materials and piecing things together yourself requires more work on your part, but also helps maximize what you can get for your money. Don’t be afraid to “get your hands dirty” and combine single ingredients together to make your own personal best pre-workout, daily health supplement, etc.

You’ll learn a lot, and save yourself a good chunk of change in the process.

Buy in Bulk

The best way to stretch your dollar, as you may already know, is by buying in bulk. It’s how you get the most bang your buck, literally. The upfront cost might be a bit high, but the actual cost per serving will be less. Find the largest quantity container of your chosen product and buy it. You’ll have a supply for several months most likely and only be shelling out pennies a day for it.

Protein Powder is Food

One thing you’ll notice when we start getting into the budget supplement stacks below is that protein powder is nowhere to be found.

Why is this?

Is it because we don’t like protein or have some weird aversion to dairy-based products?

No, not at all.

The reason protein powder is not included on the list of supplements is that whey protein is a food. It’s not a supplement.

As such, it’s going to come out of your monthly food budget, not your supplement budget.

Learn to Enjoy Coffee

The main people adore pre-workouts is for the boost in energy and focus they give. Most of this energy-enhancing effect is due to caffeine, pure and simple.

Sure, there are other beneficial ingredients in pre-workouts such as L-Citrulline, Betaine or Alpha GPC, but far and away you use a pre-workout for energy.

Well, there’s something else that gives you just as much energy as pre-workout, and is considerably cheaper. In fact, you probably have it in your house or office kitchen right now - coffee!

Each cup of coffee contains between 80-100mg of caffeine. Simply have two to three cups of coffee an hour or so before your workout, and you’ll save yourself the expense of having to purchase a pre-workout.

What if you don’t like coffee?

First off, what’s wrong with you? Coffee is delicious. It’s rich, dark, warming, and utterly amazing. It’s the perfect way to start the day or relax after an indulgent meal, but if you absolutely can’t stand the taste, smell, or thought of coffee, relax we’ve already covered that.

The answer is caffeine pills. They’re dirt cheap and pack around 200mg per serving. Simply pop one before your workout and you’ll have all the energy of your favorite pre-workout for pennies on the dollar.

Now, let’s discuss some of the basic supplements you should probably be prioritizing for your tight budget.

Top 5 Basic Supplements

#1 - Multi Vitamin

Many will argue that multivitamins aren’t beneficial, useful, or all that effective, especially if you’re consuming a well-rounded diet. However, multivitamins are first on this list for a couple of reasons.

First, they’re dirt cheap and easily fit into any budget.

Second, intense exercise increases your micronutrient needs, and if you’re like most people on a budget, you tend to eat the same thing day in and day out. While there’s nothing wrong with that, you might be coming up short on an essential vitamin or mineral, such as magnesium, which is a common deficiency amount athletes.

Third, how sure are you that your food is as micronutrient dense as you’ve been led to believe it is. Common agricultural practices have depleted the soil crops are grown in, which makes the food you eat not nearly as nutrient dense as you might think. Again, this can lead to shortfalls in your micronutrients.

Having a multivitamin addresses any shortfalls and helps “fill in the gap” in your daily diet, so that you’re never lacking in an essential micronutrient.

#2 - Fish Oil

If you’re like most of the population you don’t eat enough fish. If by chance you do eat fish somewhat regularly, it’s probably some kind of white fish, which means it’s not very rich in omega-3 fatty acids.

Omega-3 fatty acids are an essential type of fat that supports cardiovascular health, cognitive function, and reduces inflammation. The vast majority of us are chronically deficient in these important fats and might be one of the factors limiting your performance and recovery that you didn’t even realize.

Proper supplementation isn’t always about energy and pumps. It’s about addressing the basic needs that improve your ability to function optimally no matter what you’re doing, which leads us to the next supplement essential.

#3 - Vitamin D3

These days, we’re all working longer, commuting farther, and altogether spending more time indoors than outdoors. This has led to a state of chronic deficiency in Vitamin D - the sunshine vitamin.

Your body naturally makes vitamin D when it’s exposed to direct sunlight, unfortunately for the reasons we just mentioned, most of the Western world are deficient in it, which is a huge problem as Vitamin D is involved a host of important functions, including the production of testosterone.

#4 - Creatine

Creatine really needs little to no explanation of why it should be included in any supplement stack. It’s the single most proven bodybuilding supplement in the history of sports nutrition.

Period.

End of story.

Creatine improves everything from lean body mass to athletic performance to cognitive function. It’s also dirt freaking cheap and is something that everyone should be using.

#5 - Beta Alanine

If you want to last longer throughout your entire workout, you should be using beta alanine. Again, it’s another ingredient with a proven track record and has been shown to be effective on all sorts of athletes from football players to sprinters to endurance athletes.

Beta-alanine is cheap, effective, and proven. If you don’t like the tingles it gives, you can leave it out, but once you’ve reached saturation, the tingles go away. Plus, many people actually enjoy the tingles and feel that it helps get them “in the zone” for their workout.

OK, now let’s get to the part you’ve been waiting for - how to get the most bang for your buck!

Takeaway

It’s never enjoyable being strapped for cash, especially if you’re used to having more freedom with your spending dollars. But, tight budgets can be a blessing in disguise. They can help you sort out the useless, frivolous things in life from the really important ones.

We’ve included the best bang for your buck supplements in this article, so that next time you’re in a pinch financially and can only afford one dollar a day on your fitness, you’re getting the most your money can buy.